The FBI announced yesterday that it was investigating a fatal hit-and-run incident in Kansas City, which killed a Muslim teenager in a suspected hate crime.
The Somali boy, identified by police as Abdisamad Sheikh-Hussein, was killed on early Thursday evening as he was leaving the Somali Center of Kansas City at Admiral Boulevard and Lydia Avenue.
“We’re working jointly with the Kansas City Police Department,” said FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton, “but we have opened this as a civil rights investigation into a potential hate crimes violation.”
A Kansas City Muslim group with ties to a national organisation called for a federal probe following the boy’s death, in what witnesses told police appeared to be a deliberate attempt to strike the teenager with an SUV around 5:30pm on Thursday.
Abdisamad, a student at Staley High School in Kansas City, Kan., had his legs severed during the incident and he was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital where he died.
The Kansas City Muslim community is “deeply shocked,”according to Zulfiqar Malik, a board member with the Heartland Muslim Council.
“We ask federal law enforcement to investigate this attack as a possible hate crime,” Malik added.
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Threats
In a press release, the Kansas Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) cited Somali Center officials as saying a man had been threatening Muslims in Kansas City for months.
It also said the vehicle involved in Abdisamad’s death was seen months before with Islamophobic messages written on the rear window.
“We urge federal authorities to get involved in this case in order to send the message that our nation’s leaders will not allow American Muslims to be targeted because of their faith,” CAIR-Kansas Chairman Moussa Elbayoumy said in a press release yesterday.
The victim and another person were getting into a parked car when the driver of a Chevrolet SUV, eastbound on Admiral, sideswiped them.
Witnesses said the vehicle crossed the center line and appeared to target the pedestrians on the north side of the street.
“It became pretty clear that this was not an accidental crash, there is a considerable amount of evidence that leads us to believe it was intentional,” said police Sgt Bill Mahoney.
The victim was thrown by the impact.
The SUV was disabled by the crash. The driver, described as in his mid-30s, was alone in the vehicle. He fled on foot but was quickly arrested. Police said he had a machete and other weapons.
The Heartland Muslim Council commended police for arresting the suspect so quickly.
“We hope the suspect will be charged and brought to full justice,” the press release said.
Police on Thursday declined to speculate on a motive and were interviewing witnesses. The incident is being investigated by the assault squad, Sgt Mahoney said.
